In Buddha's Wake is a practical guide to meditation, mindfulness and a contemplative life. The book uses the comprehensive yet accessible framework of early Buddhism, an extraordinarily rich and beautiful tradition which offers simple, effective methods for calming the mind and body, being more present in our daily life activities, opening our hearts to love and compassion, cultivating deep states of bliss, joy and peace, and discovering profound insights into who we really are. Over the course of the book, we'll explore: * Laying the foundations: meditation, contemplation, and the overarching goal of finding peace in our busy lives. * In daily life: a practical approach to mindfulness, and a non-dogmatic exploration of the role of ethics. * Opening the heart: cultivating loving kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, equanimity, gratitude and forgiveness. * Dwelling in jhana: exploring altered states of consciousness that can arise through deep meditation practice. * Knowing and seeing: insight meditation and contemplation practices for seeing deeply into what's really going on. * Living wisely: developing a personalised spiritual path, and looking at how practice unfolds over the months and years. These different dimensions of practice are both individually valuable and mutually reinforcing; you're welcome to engage with as much or as little of the tradition as you like, according to your personal needs and interests. Each chapter includes accompanying meditation and contemplation practices, offering structured ways to explore the material that's being presented. This isn't a dry textbook on Buddhist philosophy; it offers practical instructions for spiritual explorers who want to do more than just read about it. If you have any interest at all in exploring your inner world, there’s something in here for you!